On a day that had wind conditions more suited to an empty paddock then a football field saw the Casey Demons VFLW team go down to the Essendon Bombers by five points, the finals score 3.7 25 to 4.6 30.
It was extremely windy at Casey Fields with the goalposts themselves struggling to stay upright.
A tight contest was on display with a Casey side looking to knock off a fellow final’s contender on their charge to a place in the final 6.
Given the conditions, the game was extremely contested, and it became a battle of who can win the ball in the stoppage first.
Casey were against the wind in the first term and their main objective was to prevent the advantage with the wind that the Bombers would build.
Stoppage after stoppage was a story of the game with the Demons midfielders working overtime to allow no time and space on the ball and tackle at every opportunity they could.
Essendon didn’t kick their first goal until halfway through the quarter and it was a decent start for the Demons.
Another goal followed from a perfect centre clearance saw the Demons concede three for the first quarter.
Roles reversed in the second and the Bombers were excellent, not allowing Casey to get the ball forward with the wind at all.
Unfortunately, Ciara Burke’s goal was the only major for the term with the home side inaccurate in front of the goal, kicking five behinds.
A factor that would prove costly later in the match.
The third period for Casey was all about limiting the damage and keeping the margin as small as possible so they could try and claw it back in the final quarter.
Also, inaccurate in front of goal, the Bombers kicked four straight behinds and only one goal in the third quarter and would have been worried that they didn’t kill the game.
19-points down, with the wind and Casey had all the belief going into the final term that they could claw back a result.
Contest to contest, stoppage to stoppage, Essendon played the conditions perfectly to not allow the Demons opportunities to bring the game back.
The Bombers forced the ball wide and out of bounds to kill the clock and make the task grow for the home team.
In the hunt for a potential finals place, Casey had all the hope and motivation they needed.
A Brooke Borchard goal in the sixth minute gave an even bigger boost of momentum and Casey could see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Amber Kinnane converted to make it a one goal game with 4 minutes left.
A behind from the centre clearance meant that a goal would be a game winning score for the Demons, but as they had done so expertly throughout the game, the Bombers held on.
Flooding the backline with every player on the field and preventing any loose ball, the away side where able to hold on, winning by five points.
The loss sees Casey now face an almost impossible chance of making finals.
Mathematically, they can still slip in but the job at hand is enormous and requires other results to go their way, for the Demons to have the slightest of opportunities to play finals in 2023.
Despite the disappointing outcome, Casey will be sure to play their best football and finish the year on a high for the remaining two rounds.
CASEY DEMONS: 0.0 1.5 1.5 3.7 (25)
ESSENDON BOMBERS: 3.2 3.2 4.6 4.6 (30)
BEST: Burn, O'Neill, Fairchild, Phillips, Proy, Kinnane
DISPOSALS: 25 Danckert, 21 Fairchild, 16 Burn, 14 Neal, 13 O’Neill
GOALS: 1 Burke, Borchard, Kinnane
